MY FRIEND MIKE

We live in a very selfish world today, people always in a hurry, crooked politicians, maniacs shooting children for no apparent reason; and now we are seeing a new generation coming along, with narcissistic attitudes. I am fortunate, in spite of this cruel world, I have a dear friend Mike. We have never met, but we have been friends for years thanks to the Internet.

Mike doesn’t have much, he lives in a trailer on a mountain. He is surrounded and loved by all his pets, and has the heart of St. Francis. I can’t remember the exact number of dogs and cats he has, but I believe it is somewhere between fifteen and twenty. What little money he has goes toward the feeding and medical needs of his animals.

Mike has recently been diagnosed with kidney failure. He is in a great deal of pain, and soon will have to go on dialysis. When he emailed me with the bad news his only thought was what would happen to his animals should he not survive. It is not a pleasant thing to think about and my heart goes out to him.

Today, after a brief visit to the hospital because of pain, Mike told me that his Jack Russell was dying. There isn’t anything that Mike can do for his loving companion, except for staying by his side and petting him until the soul in the dog’s eyes flickers out. “It is not easy to watch a dog die” Mike said, something that I know all too well.

I am happy and honored to know Mike. There are not enough people in the world today with a heart as big as his. Though I am very sad for Mike and his dog, I feel very rich indeed for having such a wonderful friend.

Betty, I really thought he would keep in touch with one of us and let us know how he was doing. I do know he took it very hard, so maybe he didn’t want to talk about it.

That is always a problem when someone has pets. You never know what will happen to your babies. My sis in law was very good about keeping her moms pets. She had a couple of dogs, which both were very sick, but she kept them until the end. She also kept her brothers dog, which lived a long time and had trouble getting around. Her own dig became blind, but she said you wouldn’t put a person down just because they lost their sight.

Betty, hopefully you will keep up with your writing. It all seems to come so easily for you.

I worry about my Maggie, but I know Marty would take her if something happened to me. I also have a cousin, who is about 14 years younger than me and I know he would step in if Marty couldn’t take care of Mags. He really loves dogs.

I enjoy writing, but I don’t think I am very good at it. Thanks for the nice compliment. Enjoy your evening.